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March 22 -28, 2008 The Independent Weekly In a former autobiographi- cal work -- there are at least six -- Kate Llewellyn noted that "my life is simply the paddock I plough when I write. I do it, because it is held in common with the lives of other women in this place and this time". Read the results of all that ploughing, as I did, rapidly, one after the other, and it s hard not to feel squeamish at being privy to these banal, often painfully frank details of a life. And yet, like a qual- ity television soap (think The Sullivans), Llewellyn s poised series of memoirs are addictive. The Dressmaker s Daughter is the lengthiest, most replete story of her life so far. She was born in the 1930s in the tiny South Australian town of Tumby Bay and had three younger brothers and an idyl- lic first 12 years. Her parents were hard-working, thrifty, loving if not affectionate Protestants, who put the kids to bed at 5pm so they could listen to the radio in peace. There was a kitchen stove, a copper for the washing, and tomato sandwich suppers at the beach, the biggest and best playground. Llewellyn s education was rudimentary and not encour- aging, although she read "as if swimming, ignorant and happy". At 15, she became an incompetent secretary, and at 16 she was in a truck and knit- ting when the "well of [her] mouth was first broached" and the kisser s tongue inserted, at which she was "as astonished as if he d put his thumb in her ear". There are many equally spry wordings in this book, which is no doubt why Llewellyn is also a fine poet, with several collections to her name. Soon after she began her nurse s training in 1954 at Gawler District Hospital, she noted that "had we been gazelles, pregnancy was our lion". Llewellyn frocked up with the rest, but evaded the lions, and went on to work at the Royal Adelaide, with its "culture of tyranny and exploitation". Four years of witnessing death, endless bandaging, washing of bottoms and a rigid routine, helped anchor a surprisingly fey nature, given her family background, while leading her into a wholly unorthodox mar- riage with an enigmatic young man, paralysed by polio. He had the use of his right hand and some of his left, and Llewellyn had a "lifting machine" to help her get him in and out of bed. This aspect of the author s story is not at all commonplace, which may be why Llewellyn is tantalis- ingly circumspect about it. She was very candid about a lover in a 1988 memoir called Dear You, so it is not inhibition, nor is it anxiety about her former husband s feelings, as he is now dead. It is a curious withholding that stands as a reminder of the shiftiness that underpins the writing of memoirs, and surely arises from a wish to spare the feelings of the family and friends who are the support cast. Yet Llewellyn s adult chil- dren feature prominently in many of her works, with some of the tensions of their rela- tionship with their mother, if not fully exposed, at least made explicit, particularly those involving her daughter, Caro, who in The Mountain (1989) featured as the recipient of a series of intimate letters. Llewellyn has explained her own ability to bare her life this way: "When I write it down, it never seems to be anything but a text. Nothing A life less ordinary Kate Llewellyn is a prolific author who claims to be very private, but is forthcoming when it comes to her side of the story. Introducing The Dressmaker s Daughter, one of her finest works, Nicola Walker presents this review. Continued Page 31 Moderate coarse language, sex themes "a film that reminds you why you love movies." THE WASHINGTON POST "beautifully acted and written." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ★★★★ LISA HENSLEY, THE MOVIE SHOW ★★★★ "touching and intelligent" FENELLA KERNEBONE, LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE WINNER BEST SCREENPLAY SILVER HITCHCOCK AWARD DINARD BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL 2007 WINNER C.I.C.A.E AWARD SAN SEBASTIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007 www.madmancinema.com.au www.bricklanemovie.co.uk NOW SHOWING Exclusively at Palace Nova Eastend ONLY AT THE MOVIES